On behalf of a unified Anacortes School District Board of Directors, I ask Anacortes voters to consider two important questions related to the current ballot initiatives: What kind of community do we want to foster for our children, and how can we best support the education they deserve?

The Anacortes School District operates in a complex financial landscape that requires careful planning, disciplined decision-making, and responsible stewardship under increasingly difficult conditions.

The district’s Board of Directors embraces its obligation to transparency and accountability. District finances are shared openly through public budget documents, financial forecasts, and board discussions. District leadership welcomes public scrutiny and exercises careful oversight throughout this process. This work requires making decisions in a resource constrained and rapidly changing environment—often choosing among difficult and imperfect options.

The district has implemented significant adjustments to align resources with enrollment trends. These include staffing reductions, program adjustments, operational efficiencies, and deferred expenditures wherever possible. Every effort has been made to keep reductions as far away from classrooms and students as possible. These decisions followed extensive analysis and public discussion, with careful consideration of their direct impact on students, educators, and staff. These are not abstract budget lines; they represent real changes that affect real people and real learning environments. Maintaining educational opportunities while responding to financial realities has required intentional, often painful tradeoffs.

The use of reserves during this period reflects a deliberate choice to prioritize student stability and educational continuity. The district’s current 2.3% reserve results from thoughtful decisions made in response to multiple, compounding pressures. These include declining enrollment, reduced and unpredictable state funding, persistent inflation, and rising fixed costs such as utilities, insurance, and transportation. These challenges are well-documented and affect all school districts across Washington.

There are fair and justified criticisms regarding the extent to which the state of Washington funds public education. It is not secret the state’s funding models are not fully aligned with its constitutional obligation to amply fund public schools. These concerns are legitimate and deserve further discussion—but it is critical for voters to understand this distinction: opposing local levies as a way to express frustration with Olympia will not cause the legislature to change course. Instead, it shifts the consequences onto our schools and students. The harm is not theoretical or abstract; it is immediate and borne by children in our community.

Anacortes students deserve consistent, quality education regardless of challenges at the state level. Supporting local levies is a commitment to maintaining educational quality, protecting students, and sustaining the schools that serve OUR community. We encourage voters to review the facts, consider the real impacts, and vote YES on both Proposition 1 and Proposition 2.

Jack Curtis